Delaware County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

45,060

100.00%

46,003

100.00%

In Poverty

5,768

12.80%

5,915

12.86%

Not in Poverty

39,292

87.20%

40,088

87.14%

11 Years and Under

7,860

17.44%

6,602

14.35%

In Poverty

1,617

3.59%

1,447

3.15%

Not in Poverty

6,243

13.85%

5,155

11.21%

12 to 17 Years

3,741

8.30%

4,063

8.83%

In Poverty

436

0.97%

605

1.32%

Not in Poverty

3,305

7.33%

3,458

7.52%

18 to 64 Years

26,100

57.92%

27,036

58.77%

In Poverty

2,881

6.39%

3,152

6.85%

Not in Poverty

23,219

51.53%

23,884

51.92%

65 Years and Above

7,359

16.33%

8,302

18.05%

In Poverty

834

1.85%

711

1.55%

Not in Poverty

6,525

14.48%

7,591

16.50%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.